Operation Vadera: The Spin Begins

By Iain Martin

If you are Lord Mandelson, then what do you do when a figure incredibly close to the PM – such as Shriti Vadera – decides to leave the government ahead of a general election? Why, you shrug and say that really it’s a lot of fuss over something quite straightforward, nothing-to-see-here-move-along-thankyou-very-much. And so the spin operation begins.

The Business Secretary said she had made a “tremendous contribution” to his department. “She has worked tirelessly to ensure businesses, especially small businesses, are supported through the recession and emerge stronger at the other side,” he said. “Shriti has real passion for the G20 and has done excellent work already promoting international action to tackle the financial crisis. So this is a logical move for her and us.”

A logical move “for her and us”. Note how elegantly he elides over her fleeing the government at a crucial juncture. What an old smoothie.